Hey people, I return with another chapter. Also, I'm sorry for the even longer hiatus in between chapters, a lot has been happening these last few months, got a physically demanding job that puts me into shut down mode for weeks on end. My job will slow down dramatically in January, so I'll be able to focus more on writing then. So, to the responses:
Thebutterking: Thank you, and about Isaac… Since he is the only thing around with the Necromorph infection, along with tidbits of the Necromorph conscious, I think it is safe to say that he is a bit more than just a regenerator. With how I'm thinking, he can be any type of Necromorph he needs to be, or more specifically, what it needs to be.
Itharax: YOUR ENTHUSIASM IS SCARING ME! But it is greatly appreciated.
Abe: SAY THAT TO MY FACE
Aghast Soldier Guy: Thank you kindly, Soldier.
Some guy: Well, he can be all of them… But he busted the emitter for his Stasis module, so he has aspects of a Twitcher now…
Oberon: I'm not completely sure what I just read… And I haven't dabbled in any Tokyo Ghoul, yet…
Neovilus: Well, now you get your bloody blood-fest… of blood… Thank you though...
"ISAAC!" Shizuka called out to him, but what had taken his place paid her no mind. Struggling against Moka's hold, she tried reaching out for him, but was nowhere near close enough. She could only watch as the monster stalked toward the other odd man out. The cackle from earlier returned, and the monster began to shake violently.
Before anybody realized it, the monster popped up in front of the man in black. It was impossibly fast, and everyone backed up even farther. The man in black even stepped back, but didn't have the chance to get any farther. A single blade passed through man's head, before the other hand swung at the neck, decapitating him. The head was flung into a nearby wall, and then the scythe-bladed hands began to impale the body over and over again. Blood erupted from holes that nobody could tell had even been made, and chunks of flesh and viscera plopped onto the ground in the ever-growing puddle of blood.
As suddenly as it had begun, it stopped, leaving everyone dumbfounded. The only sounds remaining were the occasional plop of splattered gore, and the rattle of the monster.
Eventually though, the creature hunched over, stabbing a rather large chunk of what used to be the mysterious man. Everyone watched as it slowly brought the chunk closer and closer to its maw, watching the blood ooze from severed veins and arteries. Shizuka felt bile rise in her throat, but knew she had to stop him from doing that.
"ISAAC!" The creature flinched, stopping it from getting the piece closer. It didn't look towards them, but frantically began to scrape off the flesh. She inwardly sighed out of relief. It seemed that there was still a bit of Isaac conscious.
"Mizore." Shizuka spoke up, glancing at Tsukune. He looked at her, and nodded distractedly. Quietly, he stole away upstairs, leaving everyone else to watch Isaac's body. Shizuka knew well enough that if anyone could get through to him at this point, it would have to be her. Plus, Mizore would probably need all of her friends right now.
"G-go." Moka and Kurumu looked at her, bewildered. Shizuka wriggled out of Moka's arms, and stepped towards Isaac.
"You can-." Shizuka glared at them, silencing them both. She wasn't sure that she could do this, but it was Isaac. Even if worse came to worse, the thought of what could happen made her stomach drop.
Without another word, the girls left, leaving Shizuka and Isaac alone. With small and tentative steps, she inched closer to him. It didn't move, keeping its hunched back towards her. She noticed that the creature's shaking slowed down, but became extremely violent instead. Then came the cracking and popping, causing her to hop back. She watched intently, jumping when something clattered to the floor. It was the emitter to Isaac's stasis module.
"Isaac?" Her voice wavered a bit, but she was still worried about getting close. Ever so slowly, Shizuka noticed that Isaac was turning around. He didn't look as horrifying, the torn cheeks were healed over. Suddenly, he lurched forward, and started upchucking. The needle-like teeth that had taken root a few minutes prior, were launched out of him along with a small pile of viscera. Shizuka watched as Isaac began to slowly pick himself up, and he eventually stumbled to a somewhat solid footing.
"Isaac?" She stepped forward, and reached out to him. In response, Isaac took tentative steps towards her, but his feet failed him. He collapsed, but Shizuka was there fast enough to prevent him from slamming his head on the ground. As quickly as she could, she began dragging him outside, but was promptly stopped by Isaac.
"The students?" Shizuka continued on, too worried about him dying on her.
"They're fine. We just need to get you out of here, okay?" He weakly nodded. It didn't take them long to get to the door, where a small group of people had assembled. The bus driver, Tsurara, Ruby, and Moka's sister, . The driver slipped over, and took the near-unconscious man.
"I'll get him patched up, don't worry." As the driver started to hoist Isaac away, Shizuka snatched up the flamethrower off of Isaac's back. There was still a bit of blood and viscera that was probably from Isaac, and he always emphasized why there shouldn't be any lingering pieces of him anywhere. She sprinted upstairs, the tool already burning blue.
The hall where everything took place was as still as a graveyard, the only sounds were the repetitive clack of her shoes. The whole hall was bit of a mess, a few walls and pillars even had a fresh coating of crimson ichor. Naturally, she didn't waste time in getting the mess burned away. Every little splotch was swallowed by the blue inferno, and Shizuka took extra care to let the chunks of the other man cook for much longer. She only let up when each chunk crumbled under foot into a fine black powder, satisfied that he wouldn't be getting back up.
"Ms. Nekonome?" She turned to the stairway, seeing all the students coming down the stairs. They all looked no worse for wear, even the slightly red-eyed Mizore.
"Where's Isaac?" She let the flamethrower drop a bit, feeling oddly drained. It was probably the overwhelming stench of burnt flesh, and the scare of what happened to Isaac. Just thinking about Isaac made her feel even more tired.
"Downstairs with the driver, Ruby, and Kokoa…" She just wanted to go home, and drop on her bed like a damn rock. It occurred to her that she'd never been this stressed out in years, and only glanced at the others as she hopped onto the bus that awaited downstairs.
Isaac was lying on a cot in the middle aisle, looking relatively peaceful as he watched her. His natural pallor had returned, and his eyes were back to their normal color as well. He offered a small smile as she sat down next to him, and began lightly running her hand through his hair.
"You okay?" He nodded slightly.
"Hey, I'm gonna look at the Lock, okay? Tsukune says the beads break on his whenever he turns." Another nod, and he lifted his forearm. She quickly grabbed his arm, worried that he may be a bit too tired to keep his arm up for a while. The band wasn't broken, and the rosary on it still looked pristine. She did eventually spot one in particular that was different. It looked like something was growing on it, almost fleshy looking now.
She gently placed his arm back down, and went back to running her hand through his hair. It didn't take long for Isaac to drift off to sleep, and Shizuka lied down on an adjacent seat. She drifted off to sleep shortly after, her head resting on Isaac's stomach.
Without disturbing the sleeping adults, everyone filed back onto the bus, tired and eager to head home. The bus rumbled into life, and they were back at the school in less than an hour. The students quietly filed out, leaving the bus driver to wake the others.
"Hey you two." He gently nudged both of them, rousing Isaac. Shizuka kept on sleeping, even when Isaac moved her to a sitting position. He noticed that he wasn't particularly sore or
"Shizuka." Isaac shook her, but she only mumbled. He wasn't too
C'mon. You lazy cat. He prodded her neck with no reaction. He'd have to resort to hitting her sensitive areas, namely her ears. She must've stopped trying to hide them at some point, and just let things be. Ultimately, he decided not to wake her.
Gently, he slipped his arms beneath her, and lifted. The woman didn't stir, and only nuzzled up against him. The walk back to their rooms was a silent one, the only noise was an occasional purr from the sleeping woman. Isaac realized that he didn't know where she kept her keys, so he quickly unlocked his room, and laid her down on his bed. She snuggled up on the bed, messing up his covers, but he wasn't bothered at all. He was going to plop down right next to her, when a gentle sets of knocks rang out.
Come on… Begrudgingly, he walked back to the door. Not even bothering with the security system, he opened the door to see Tsukune. He looked back at the sleeping woman, and motioned for them to take the conversation out of the room.
"Are you okay, Isaac?" He shrugged, and leaned against the wall.
"As far as I can tell, I am. I think Shizuka thinks so as well." The kid nodded, and shifted his weight to one of his feet. A quiet moment passed between them, before someone said anything.
"How about your Lock?" Isaac glanced, instantly spotting the infected one. He held it up for Tsukune to see.
"I think Shizuka said that your beads crack when you turn." Another nod, and the kid showed his own lock. True to what he heard, a few of the beads bore a visible crack, a stress fracture from what Isaac could guess. It bothered him that his own Lock was acting differently than the kids, but they were dealing with different problems.
"How is Mizore doing?" Tsukune's eyes darkened momentarily.
"She almost threw herself out of the window when we got there, but Kurumu was able to catch her in time." Isaac nodded, morosely recalling the few times that he'd almost done something like that.
"Make sure you are there for her, okay? I hope you'll never have to know how important it is to have someone supporting you after doing something like that." The kid raised a brow, but let it pass.
"I will." Isaac nodded, and patted the kid on the shoulder.
"Your friends will probably want to see you, best not let them wait." They both said small farewells, and Isaac casually walked into the room. Shizuka was still sleeping, her head buried in his pillow. He removed his armor and RIG, and hopped into the shower.
It was scalding hot, but he felt it was necessary. He had been able to hold back the revulsion and nausea that came flooding back every time he remembered. How blades burst from his hands, how his cheeks tore, and the terror in everyone's eyes. He knew it was pointless to worry about it, but there was that light at the end of the tunnel. A cure and the freedom that came with it.
As soon as he finished his shower, he dried off and slipped some pajamas on. Shizuka didn't stir through all of that, her face still buried in his pillow. He gently slipped into bed, and drew himself into the covers. It didn't take long for Shizuka to wrangle him into an embrace, all the while unconscious.
He closed his eyes, and drifted off into a dreamless slumber.
A few hours later
Isaac was the first awake, already noticing that the sun wasn't out just yet. He lied there quietly, slowly rubbing the sleeping woman's back. It was necessary for him to move a bit at one point, because her kimono had begun to open up. Quickly, he tied it up with a crude knot, keeping her clothes from slipping off her.
Is it really safe for me to be with her? I can't be anything but a ticking time bomb right now… He stared at the ceiling, absently watching the fan spin. It was only a few minutes in to his staring that Shizuka began to stir.
"Hello, sleepy head." She looked up, a bit of drool hanging out of the side of her mouth. She offered a dazed smile, before snuggling back up to him.
"C'mon, you've been sleeping for almost 13 hours now." Her response was just further burying her face into his chest.
Well, it is Sunday, at least. He went silent for a little while, waiting for Shizuka to get up on her own.
"Isaac?" He hummed, and waited for Shizuka to look up at him. She only raised her head a little, slightly muffling her next question.
"Are you really okay?" He nodded, and squeezed her a little bit tighter. She responded in kind, even adding a small giggle as his ever growing beard tickled her neck.
"I feel fine now." She looked at him again, and kissed him. As much as he tried to be paranoid, he just couldn't bring himself to be like that with her in his arms. Her presence alone was enough to make him feel better.
Shizuka slowly slipped out of the bed, and stretched. Isaac was gonna follow suit, when she leaned over, and kept him from sitting up properly.
"I'll get us both something to eat, okay?" He sighed, and allowed her to win this round. There wasn't much of a point to arguing. Besides, he wasn't feeling the greatest at this moment.
"I need to change, nyah. Cause this is nyot going to fly." Isaac chuckled, and Shizuka darted out of the room. It occurred to him that he thought her penchant to do that was annoying early on, it almost seemed absurd to think that now. That thought aside, he silently lied there for a few minutes, nary a thought crossing his mind.
Shizuka showed up eventually, two containers of eggs, bacon, and rice tucked under her arm. He took note of her attire as well, a loose t-shirt and pajama bottoms. Isaac sat up, and both of them began to dig in to their breakfast in bed. They were fairly surprised with their food, seeing as it tasted better for some reason. Naturally, they finished up the plates, and instantly knew that more would be necessary.
"I'm still hungry." Isaac nodded, absently picking at a piece of bacon stuck in his teeth. He couldn't argue with that at all. They hopped up, and locked up the room. It crossed Isaac's mind that he didn't grab his cutter, and surprisingly, he wasn't nervous without it. Another thing he attributed to Shizuka.
As they wandered the halls, they could hear people conversing in the cafeteria. Isaac glanced in, and went in with Shizuka still latched to his hand. All of the clubbies were eating together, dressed in their pajamas. He found it comforting to see them all happily chatting away like nothing happened.
"Morning everyone." Contrary to what Isaac thought would happen, they all greeted him cheerily. Tsukune's problems probably had them used to something like that. Both adults walked over to where all the breakfast options were. It still was bizarre to see something like raw meat just lying next to a container of oranges, but he already knew what he wanted to eat. He plucked up a cinnamon bun, as well as a large bottle of cranberry juice. Shizuka, on the other hand, nabbed two raw fish fillets with a bottle of chocolate milk. They joined the kids, digging into their food whilst listening to what the other people were saying.
It was just average small talk, strangely enough. Nothing regarding yesterday, or anything like that. It almost bothered him that they weren't doing that, but he let it go. It was probably for the best anyways.
"Isaac?" Shizuka poked at his side, pulling him from his thoughts. She was holding out a slice of fish, and Isaac graciously bit off the piece. He couldn't help but offer up a small smile, which she returned as well. Turning back to his own plate, he felt people staring at him. All of the kids were watching them, some looking envious. He already knew something was going to happen.
"Can we help you?" Most of the kids looked away, the girls slipping their eyes to the resident ghoul. Isaac could only imagine that the girls would soon be stuffing his face just to mimic him and Shizuka. True to his thought, Mizore quickly had a spoonful of sorbet at Tsukune's mouth. Both Isaac and Shizuka glanced at each other, knowing this was going to escalate as soon as Kurumu got involved. Both of them scooted back a few chairs, and watched as Kurumu smothered the poor kid after pouring syrup on her chest.
"I think we should go." Isaac nodded, and they quickly left. The last thing they heard from the room was Tsukune yelling for help.
"Tsukune has it rough, nyah." Isaac chuckled. Something like having your own harem was at the forefront of every teenage boy's mind, but the reality of it all was much different. Not that he knew from experience, but just watching the group told him all he needed.
"Yeah, I wouldn't like to be in his position." Shizuka sent him a glance.
"Really? Having a harem willing to do your every whim?" He shook his head, pulling the cheery woman closer as he did so.
"One is plenty for me." The rest of the walk back to their rooms was peacefully quiet, the only odd thing to happen was when they got to their rooms. Taped onto each of their doors was a letter, no doubt from the Headmaster.
It has come to my attention that you had an incident yesterday, and I would like to ease your mind on this matter. In times of high duress or peril, your body may reject the Lock's ability, in attempt to save your life. It is nothing to worry about, as long as you don't fight or get seriously injured. With this in mind, I am having both you and Ms. Nekonome placed on paid vacation. Your classes will be taken over by qualified replacement staff, until your vacation is over. Have fun… Shizuka squealed as she read hers, and Isaac only grinned. A vacation was something he hadn't had since before the Ishimura. Plus, the timing felt a bit perfect, another little great thing on the pile for the day.
Either it is perfect timing, or this seems a bit rushed.
"It doesn't say where we are going to go…" He glanced at Shizuka, who was looking starry-eyed at the paper.
"We can go to my villa!" She began jumping for joy, and began shaking Isaac's arm like a child. The enthusiasm she was emanating was just overpowering, but Isaac wasn't one to jump for joy. Nonetheless, he laughed as she slowly settled down.
"We gotta go pack, and I gotta get all the cleaning stuff ready." She began to murmur on, absently walking into her room.
Well. I should probably get started as well. Packing would be easy enough, if he wore his RIG suit. Not that he was a slacker in the strength department, it was just that he didn't feel up for lugging things around. He popped into his room, dredging out a large roller suitcase that Ruby had dropped off earlier in the month.
It only took them a bit over a half an hour to be ready, and were rolling their suitcases down the hallway. They needed to speak to the others first, just so they knew. Strangely enough, they were all still in the cafeteria.
"You guys alright?" Everyone just glanced up, obviously tired from whatever little brawl that followed the adults departure.
"We are heading out on a vacation by the Headmaster's order. We have no idea how long we'll be gone, but apparently you'll have decent staff taking over. So… yeah." Isaac shifted from foot to foot, watching the kids starting to shift into gear. The majority of them stood up, at least.
"Where are you two love birds headed?" Kurumu lazily walked over, her shirt sticking to her from the pile of syrup she must've used on Tsukune. The others eventually followed, a variety of stains on their clothes. Mizore had a large red stain on her shirt, a fairly obvious sign of a ketchup assault. Moka had chunks of watermelon sticking to her hair, and Yukari had quite a few blobs of odd purple goop on her hat. Yet, Tsukune looked like a food bomb had been dropped on him.
"We are, uh… Geez, kid." There was ridiculously large chunks of different foods sticking to him, no doubt that they were only staying there from the syrupy motorboat that Kurumu had forced on him. He only shrugged as he picked a chunk of watermelon from the side of his neck, and ate it.
"You all need to wash up. We'll see you guys in a few weeks, I think." A few hums followed, and all the kids shuffled out of the cafeteria. It was a fairly odd goodbye, to say the least. Snagging a few drinks, both of them fled downstairs, and started the walk to the bus stop.
As expected, the bus was already there, idling as the driver smoked his cigarette outside.
"Having a busy weekend, huh?" The driver ground out his cigarette, and hopped back into the driver seat.
"Come on, you two. I'm supposed to have today off, and happy hour starts in a few minutes." The trip to the human world was a short one, and rather uneventful. Now, the rest of the drive to Shizuka's house wasn't so uneventful. Shizuka was pointing out a bunch of landmarks and restaurants, particularly the ones she loved to go to. Isaac couldn't help but smile as she excitedly pointed out all of these things. He wrapped his arms around her, and set his chin on her shoulder.
Eventually, the bus pulled up to a small gated home. The place was mostly hidden though, a small row of pines blocking the view. He could see that the exterior was a dull orange, though.
"You two have fun. I hear a pitcher of Jack calling me." The driver practically stomped onto the pedal, leaving a heavy cloud of smoke behind him. Both of them waved the smoke away, idly standing in the road.
"So, here we are, nyah!" She strode over to the gate, all the while fishing keys from her bag. As soon as she got the gate open, he followed her in. Admittedly, the house was one of the nicest that he had seen outside of museum exhibits from his time. There was a fairly nice garden, lined with a variety of plants. The more recognizable ones, like roses and petunias, were surrounded by vegetables and fruits. How she managed to keep all of these alive while she was at the school was beyond him.
"Welcome to my house, it's a bit of a mess though. Last time I was here, I'd taken too long at the con." Shizuka suddenly stopped herself, and hid her face out of embarrassment. He shrugged, not like his rooms in the past had been all that clean. As they stepped in, Isaac realized just how chaotic her place really was.
The living room had posters and trinkets placed and plastered all around. Posters and art work of what could only be comic book and video game characters lined the walls, along with display stands of statues of the same characters. He had friends that were like this, but with different subjects.
"S-sorry, I know it is weird for me to have all of this. I mean, it is mostly just for a few characters that I like," She placed her bags to the side, and started picking up all the comics and magazines scattered over the couch. She continued to ramble on a bit.
"No worries. I had a collection of model ships and stuff like that. Wasn't much into comics though." Isaac followed suit, and began to round up any loose trinkets around the room. He recognized a few of the characters on the boxes as ones on the posters in her room back at the school.
"Yeah… Do they still have conventions for comics and games where you come from?" A small pile of figures accumulated onto the coffee table as Isaac snagged them off the couch.
"Yes. I had a few friends that went to those events, but I didn't have the time or the means to go. It always seemed to be a fun event though." He did have to say though, a lot of this stuff looked fairly interesting. He eventually scooped up a robotic looking figure, painted in red and gold.
"It'd be nice to have a suit like that." Isaac whispered.
"There's a convention in a few weeks, wanna go? I'll be going in costume, and you can wear your suit if you want, nyah." Now that was one thing Isaac would love to see, but he had no doubt that she'd look amazing in anything.
"Sounds great." They both made short work of the remaining memorabilia. That's when they confronted the only issue left.
"So, I have a spare bedroom, if you want." Shizuka nervously shifted about, glancing at Isaac like a nervous schoolgirl. It was obvious what she was leading to, and he already knew his answer. He might've had a bit more resilience if she acted her age, but she was just too cute at that moment to resist.
"We can always share my room though." Isaac chuckled, and snatched up his bag. As he expected, and hoped for.
"Lead the way, kitty cat."
A few hours later
"Hey, you got it all over me, nyah!" Shizuka stood motionless, barely able to see through her glasses that had a fresh coating of something white.
"Well, it's your fault, you only went faster when I said I was finished. Now it's everywhere." Tense glances were passed in between the two, and Shizuka wiped some of the gunk off her glasses.
"This is the last time we make pancakes at night." Isaac declared. Shizuka puffed her cheeks, and huffed as she snatched up some paper towels.
"I didn't mean to hit the high speed button…" The woman pouted as she pulled off her shirt, and Isaac began wiping off the counter, sparing a glass at the woman. There were a few spots of batter that had landed on her breasts, and an idea came to mind.
"Hey, Shizuka." She glanced over, her head tilted. Putting up the paper towels, Isaac picked her up, and sat her down on the counter. Before she could ask, Isaac began to place light kisses upon her neck, and grabbed her hips.
"I-Isaac." The woman didn't know what prompted this, but she wasn't going to fight. It'd taken a lot for her to hold back sometimes, so it was safe to say she could let loose now. She would've continued her thoughts, if it wasn't for the sensation of something wet touching her breast.
"H-hey, you don-". She inhaled sharply as Isaac began to lick up the batter that had missed her shirt, stifling a moan that she couldn't quite contain. A grin stole across Isaac's face the more he teased her, even when the small amount of batter had long been cleaned up. Shizuka's breath had started to become a bit ragged by then, and her cheeks were flushed.
He pulled away, relishing when she looked up slightly disappointed. At the least, he knew he was doing something right. He already went this far, and he doubted neither of them would be willing to stop right here. Oh so gently, he swept her off the counter, and she began to push herself against him. She even began to nuzzle his neck, purring as she did so. Isaac walked her into the room, and collapsed onto the bed with her. Soon enough, they were lost in each other's arms, enjoying the time they had put off for so long.
Once they were done, they collapsed onto the bed, tired but content. They were still holding each other close, content smiles on their faces.
"Isaac, I'm hungry." Isaac chuckled, and began to rub her back.
"Well, we can try and make pancakes again." She looked up, and planted a quick kiss on his lips. She buried her head in his chest again, and shook her head.
"Alright, I'll get something when you let me go." Shizuka's grip tightened around him, and Isaac kissed the top of her head. The only place he wanted to be at that moment was right where he was.
"Shizuka." The woman looked up again, meeting Isaac's gaze.
"I love you." A grin stole across her face, her ears perked up.
"I love you too."
Okay, I don't know why, but I tend to imagine Shizuka as a bit of a nerd. I mean, it just makes sense to me. It's not like we have the best of ideas about her background or what she does in her free time. But she apparently has a side hobby of being a superhero, so there's that.
One last thing before I go, I would like your guys opinion on something. I figured out two endings to this story, but I'll just refer to them as the happy or sad ending. The sad ending will continue the story a chapter or two, technically just nullifying it as an ending. While the happy ending won't continue it, and will just lengthen the last chapter. I won't give details until I've gotten near the end.